Documents control procedure is found in ISO 9001. Controlled documents is one of the requirements of ISO 9001 standard. According to the clause no 4.2.3 all documents must be controlled. Though there is no specific guideline to control your documents however most of the companies who are ISO 9001 Certified  control their documents in the following ways:

• There will be approval in the documents
• Documents no, revision no, revision date will be written at the bottom or at the top of the page
• Review and update is necessary to re-approve documents
• Latest version of documents should be used at the point of use
• Documents must be legible and identifiable
• Control documents can be stamped by RED COLOR
• Uncontrolled documents can be stapled by GREEN COLOR

How documents controlled  help a company?

The answer is to prevent unintended use of obsolete documents. Change is important for better management of your company. Suppose twenty years ago you used a form where there were no option of writing email address or your company web site address but now it is digital era. So, you should change your form by adding new items or content.

How many years documents should be preserved?

Though there is no  constant rule about it however maximum companies preserve the old for three years.

Why control is necessary in your documents?

To keep pace with your need it is necessary to develop your forms and documents at any time.So what you have used in two years ago that can be obsoleted if you create new one. But you will have to preserved the old documents for future reference. Any time it can be needed. But when a new documents will be created old documents should be stamped OBSOLETE Documents.

Document control procedure can also be done in digital way. To save our environment it is not necessary to take  print. Printed documents can be used where internet or computer is not available. It is wise decision to use soft copy of your documents when internet or computer is available.

There are many views and opinions about documents control procedures  from ISO Consultants and ISO experts. You can read more about this topic from google.